I visited my tailor with the tweed, and she said "what's wrong with it? I think it looks good!" Though she did agree to take it in around the mid-section. The shoulders wouldn't have been worth it - it would have been $150 to do that.

The Hilfiger I took to the local MW, where (if you're not familiar with the store, I don't know if they have them over there) they have people who help size you, etc. I asked to get it exchanged, so they had me try it on... once again, the manager said, "It looks good." He called over the tailor who said "It's perfect. You want some taken out?" So they're altering that one.... I hope it turns out well. I should get both jackets back in about a week.

Now here's the curious thing: Three or four people here chimed in to say they were too big; both tailors (and the manager at the suit store) thought they fit good already, but agreed to slim them down. This leads me to wonder whether
1. The pictures I took were misleading? (after all, one doesn't normally hold one's arm up in front of one's head while wearing a blazer, so it's an odd position.)
2. Once again expected fit is different in the US? (Not sure how much weight to put on this though, since my tailor is Romanian) Perhaps more likely is
3. The fit is ok for "classic" fit, but doesn't conform to the current fashion for tight blazers? (as I said before a lot of the lookbook pictures
4. Maybe some combination?

Earendur - it may be a UK/US thing, when I was in the US I noticed guys in shops buying xxxxl t shirts yet they were clearly a small at best, maybe you just like a slightly looser fit in general, who knows.

My wax jacket turned up today, it was far too big in the medium which I am gutted about. Didn't want to risk returning it for an exchange in size small and find that it's sold out so just purchased it again! I got a 10% discount code this time round so got it for £36 as I complained about there service when my parcel was a day late and I pay for premier postage.

2. Once again expected fit is different in the US? (Not sure how much weight to put on this though, since my tailor is Romanian) Perhaps more likely is
3. The fit is ok for "classic" fit, but doesn't conform to the current fashion for tight blazers? (as I said before a lot of the lookbook pictures

It's these 2 combined

ATEOTD you live in the US, so a US fit should be fine I guess

Originally Posted by joshua

Thanks, really liking the Reiss blazer you picked up. Was it a sale purchase?

Yeah man, not something I'd usually look at but it felt so good I had to trow it on

I'm chummy with the dude in Reiss and managed to blag an extra 5% so it had to be done

I visited my tailor with the tweed, and she said "what's wrong with it? I think it looks good!" Though she did agree to take it in around the mid-section. The shoulders wouldn't have been worth it - it would have been $150 to do that.

The Hilfiger I took to the local MW, where (if you're not familiar with the store, I don't know if they have them over there) they have people who help size you, etc. I asked to get it exchanged, so they had me try it on... once again, the manager said, "It looks good." He called over the tailor who said "It's perfect. You want some taken out?" So they're altering that one.... I hope it turns out well. I should get both jackets back in about a week.

Now here's the curious thing: Three or four people here chimed in to say they were too big; both tailors (and the manager at the suit store) thought they fit good already, but agreed to slim them down. This leads me to wonder whether
1. The pictures I took were misleading? (after all, one doesn't normally hold one's arm up in front of one's head while wearing a blazer, so it's an odd position.)
2. Once again expected fit is different in the US? (Not sure how much weight to put on this though, since my tailor is Romanian) Perhaps more likely is
3. The fit is ok for "classic" fit, but doesn't conform to the current fashion for tight blazers? (as I said before a lot of the lookbook pictures
4. Maybe some combination?

Anyhow, more pictures will be coming in about a week...

As mentioned it's probably down to the traditional US cut which is more boxy and less fitted. As for the shoulders - if they wanted $150 to take these in, I'd walk out the door and never go back in again, even a savile row tailor in London only charges £30 for this alteration. Total rip off, or they don't know what they are doing!

As a guide the length of a suit jacket should end between your two thumb knuckles when your arms are by your side, the sleeves should end approx an inch above your wrist bone (to show some shirt cuff), the sleeves should be tapered slim enough just to let a double cuff through at the end, and the waist and shoulders are straight forward to gauge. An overlooked part of a good fit is on the sides below the arms ( pit down to hip) this should basically be tapered so that it just about touches the body. This is the traditional euro type / British tailoring standard of fit.

@Ivan I didn't realize I didn't finish that sentence until I read you quoting me... whoops! What I meant to say is that lookbook pictures tend to look tight to me (you can sort of see creases radiating out from the button).

@creed

That's interesting about the tailoring cost - I would have never guessed if I was being overcharged! She said it takes a long time to remove the sleeves completely, etc. TBH I picked this place based off the reviews (the best in the area). For comparison, if you were to get the sides taken in (the seams under the sleeves, not straight down the back), how much would you expect to pay? (She charged $50)

Thanks for the note on fit... sleeve length is another difference apparently; I had always heard that the sleeve was supposed to go to the wrist bone. There have been some nice jackets in the past that I have passed up because (while everything else fit) I thought the sleeves were about an inch too short!

@Ivan I didn't realize I didn't finish that sentence until I read you quoting me... whoops! What I meant to say is that lookbook pictures tend to look tight to me (you can sort of see creases radiating out from the button).

@creed

That's interesting about the tailoring cost - I would have never guessed if I was being overcharged! She said it takes a long time to remove the sleeves completely, etc. TBH I picked this place based off the reviews (the best in the area). For comparison, if you were to get the sides taken in (the seams under the sleeves, not straight down the back), how much would you expect to pay? (She charged $50)

Thanks for the note on fit... sleeve length is another difference apparently; I had always heard that the sleeve was supposed to go to the wrist bone. There have been some nice jackets in the past that I have passed up because (while everything else fit) I thought the sleeves were about an inch too short!

To be fair to her, taking it in at the sides is the more professional (and more complex / time consuming) way to taper a jacket. Taking it in at the back just makes the bottom flair out by the hips and it slightly changes the overall silhouette. I pay £18 for side tapering, so in dollars I think that's maybe $30. Here is the price list for one of the more mainstream tailors in the UK, it will give you an idea! The Zip Yard :: Clothing Alterations and Repairs . It would be unthinkable to pay over £40 for pretty much any specific alteration job, with the exception maybe of a leather item.

As for sleeve length, here's a picture of one of my tailor made jackets with no shirt under (sorry crap photo as I'm in some hotel in the middle of nowhere). You can see that the cuff sits above the wrist, maybe not a full inch but most definitely slightly above - this is so that a shirt cuff can be shown. There are no hard and fast rules, but showing approx 1" of cuff is the traditional fit for a suit - this guide looks fairly helpful - Sleeve Length Guide for Suits, Jackets and Shirts ? Gentleman's Gazette